Kitchen ranges are typically ventilated to improve their performance. Ranges with electrical burners are typically ventilated using airflow systems to cool the range controls and the electric heating elements, and minimize the formation of hot spots on the cooktop surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,600 describes a mechanism for cooling the interior of an induction heating kitchen range by using a fan to drive air through various chambers underneath the cooktop and then out through ventilation holes in the cooktop. U.S. Pat. No. 6,444,958 describes another arrangement for ventilating a kitchen range in which air is drawn into the burner box by a fan and past electronic controls in another compartment in order to cool these controls and sensors mounted in the cooktop.
Kitchen ranges with gas burners may also be ventilated. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,323 provides an air inlet system for a gas kitchen range in which a louver with an airfoil portion and an attachment portion provides air and vents excess heat and exhaust from the burner box. As noted in the '323 patent, the use of electronic controls has increased the need for proper ventilation, as electronic controls generally do not require holes in the kitchen range for airflow that were associated with the earlier mechanical controls. Ventilation holes in the cooktop can be used to help improve ventilation, but these ventilation holes may be unsightly and provide the opportunity for spillage to enter the burner box.